Our 24Ve is on its way!!! (photos inside)

[IDBoating]

I took a photo of the boat+trailer behind the truck again, this time unwrapped and on their way to the lake. We've received an unexpectedly warm weekend for early October, giving us a chance to try things out before winterizing and tucking away.

Unfortunately, the camera is in the truck which is back on the road, away from the lake house until tomorrow. We launched late in the day so I didn't bring the truck and trailer down to the house. I'll post photos when I get the camera again.

Part of this weekend's adventures is getting used to driving an inboard. Our current jetboat has really spoiled us with its control - no "only backs to the right" in that craft! Tonight our dog dropped a tennis ball over the edge in the middle of the lake, so my wife used that as a "target" for backing practice. Conclusion: We need a lot of practice.

The boat is now sitting in the lake for the weekend, probably the only two nights it will ever overnight in the water. (It will normally live on our AirDock, but I need to install a larger bow bag to accommodate the length and weight.) Tomorrow we will experiment with the skiing wake, boarding wake, and all of the console controls.

One thing I did notice tonight: It was difficult backing the boat off the trailer. I backed it down to the tops of the fenders and the boat wasn't even floating, so I backed it down a bit more. By the time the hull was actually floating, all but a foot or so of the tongue was submerged. Then I started cranking the strap back, but the bow was still fully supported by the bow roller; at one point the crank handle missed gouging the hull fiberglass by no more than 1/8th inch.

Somehow the clearances there are very different from the lake in Largo FL. I don't recall the ramp angle been really steep or really shallow there, and the ramp here isn't unusual in any way, so I'm not sure what is going on. We are going to pull the boat earlier than we would otherwise on Sunday so we have extra time to play with it. This won't be a huge deal, since we usually only launch once (Spring) and retrieve once (Fall) per year, but it bugs me that the winch handle gets soooooo close to that brand new fiberglass. It just doesn't "feel" right. I must be doing something wrong but haven't figured out what yet.

Thanks!

[thtrog]

Unhook the strap from bow eye before the boat is floating and Launch the Boat. Every ramp is different, but if the back end is floating you will have pressure on the bow roller.

[Nobody]

Would you please unwrap that boat and send some pictures....YOUR KILLING US.

[IDBoating]

Unhook the strap from bow eye before the boat is floating and Launch the Boat. Every ramp is different, but if the back end is floating you will have pressure on the bow roller.

That occurred to me, but it doesn't answer the question of pulling the boat OUT of the water. The angles should all be the same, which means that handle will be dangerously close to the hull.

As for disconnecting before it's in the water... I've seen a boat slide off the trailer while backing down the ramp. That was a MESS - the back end of the hull ground down on the asphalt, and it was not clear how to get it back on the trailer without additional damage (the hand winch wasn't strong enough to leverage the boat back over the bunks). I left before they figured it out. I believe you need something to prevent the boat from sliding off the trailer until it's actually floating.

This trailer doesn't (yet) have the traditional backup bow chain. It only has the winch strap. I'm going to add a chain (there's a place to attach one) but that makes me wonder if that would play a role in this subject. Perhaps disconnect the winch strap but leave the chain on until the boat is floating.

More experimentation is needed!

[IDBoating]

Would you please unwrap that boat and send some pictures....YOUR KILLING US.

Working on it....

[Iwndr]

That occurred to me, but it doesn't answer the question of pulling the boat OUT of the water. The angles should all be the same, which means that handle will be dangerously close to the hull.

As for disconnecting before it's in the water... I've seen a boat slide off the trailer while backing down the ramp. That was a MESS - the back end of the hull ground down on the asphalt, and it was not clear how to get it back on the trailer without additional damage (the hand winch wasn't strong enough to leverage the boat back over the bunks). I left before they figured it out. I believe you need something to prevent the boat from sliding off the trailer until it's actually floating.

This trailer doesn't (yet) have the traditional backup bow chain. It only has the winch strap. I'm going to add a chain (there's a place to attach one) but that makes me wonder if that would play a role in this subject. Perhaps disconnect the winch strap but leave the chain on until the boat is floating.

More experimentation is needed!

After preparing the boat out of the way somewhere I back down the ramp till the rear tires are touching the water, I get out and hand the bow line to my wife on the dock and unhook the bow winch strap, then I back down a little quicker until the fenders are submerged and apply the brakes hard the boat slides right off, Wife then catches the boat. Every ramp is different but that works on almost everyone I have seen.
If you leave the bow strap attached and back it in till your boat is floating your ride could float over your fenders and damage your hull.
If you have to back in that far to get your boat floating I would not think you would have to worry about it sliding off the dry bunks.
Good Luck with your boat and post up some pictures

[Ewok]

We use a similar method, get the boat ready for the water except the bow strap, I back the truck all the way down until the tires of the trailer are just hitting the water. I remove the bow strap, jump in the boat and the wife backs the trailer down SLOWLY. when the back end starts to float I tell her to stop and I make sure the engine starts. After the engine is running, I tell her to back up a little quicker until the bow starts to float then she hits the brakes on the truck and the boat slides off the trailer easy peasy.

I have seen many different techniques and every boat ramp is unique. I recommend trying to get exposure to as many techniques as possible and use them as a bag of tricks for different situations and ramps. Also get your crew into a routine and try to be consistent. Good habit patterns help avoid little mistakes that can go bad quick, like forgetting to put the drain plug in or forgetting to remove the rear tie down straps or forgetting to put on the tie down straps before you trailer it home.

As far as the drain plug is concerned, there are those who have forgot to put the plug in and those who will. I left it out on my last boat ONCE and it was immediately self critiquing.

Have fun this weekend!

[chpthril]

That occurred to me, but it doesn't answer the question of pulling the boat OUT of the water. The angles should all be the same, which means that handle will be dangerously close to the hull.

As for disconnecting before it's in the water... I've seen a boat slide off the trailer while backing down the ramp. That was a MESS - the back end of the hull ground down on the asphalt, and it was not clear how to get it back on the trailer without additional damage (the hand winch wasn't strong enough to leverage the boat back over the bunks). I left before they figured it out. I believe you need something to prevent the boat from sliding off the trailer until it's actually floating.

This trailer doesn't (yet) have the traditional backup bow chain. It only has the winch strap. I'm going to add a chain (there's a place to attach one) but that makes me wonder if that would play a role in this subject. Perhaps disconnect the winch strap but leave the chain on until the boat is floating.

More experimentation is needed!

Release the winch and pay out a foot or so then lock the winch back. This keeps the boat tied to the trailer, but relieves some tension at the bow-stop.

Also, look at the bolt holes on the winch, they may be slotted. If so, loosen them up and move the winch back from the boat toward the tongue.

[IDBoating]

Your method sounds interesting, I'll play with it.

But: What happens when you pull it back ONTO the trailer? Your method should smooth unloading but when pulling back on I'm concerned about that winch arm hitting the hull. Any tips?

[talltigeguy]

If you leave the bow strap attached and back it in till your boat is floating your ride could float over your fenders and damage your hull.

That is impossible with most of our trailers because the guideposts will stop the boat from floating that far sideways. Also, once the boat is floating, it is by definition higher than it was before and cannot hit most fenders anyway. Every trailer is a little different, but I think it a piss poor design if you can be backing up your boat and have it sway sideways and go on top of a fender. Without guideposts, you would risk that every time you launched in a stiff crosswind.

[Ewok]

Your method sounds interesting, I'll play with it.

But: What happens when you pull it back ONTO the trailer? Your method should smooth unloading but when pulling back on I'm concerned about that winch arm hitting the hull. Any tips?

Check out this thread I did on the boat buddy. The pictures are from my bow, the winch handle is close but it does not hit the boat. If you are worried about it, make sure you turn the handle so it is facing the tow vehicle, not the boat.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13624

[Iwndr]

That is impossible with most of our trailers because the guideposts will stop the boat from floating that far sideways. .

It most probably is pretty much impossible if you are not attached at the Bow with the winch tight. and you are either sliding the boat off or driving it off in one fluid motion, But what I was saying if you leave the winch tight and back up until the boat starts floating bad stuff can happen, Most boats I've had are wider just behind the drivers seat (above the fenders)and then taper back to a narrower beam at the transom where the guide posts are, I have about 6" between each of the guide posts and the boat when it is loaded so there is room for movement. I just know I’ve never bounced off a fender yet driving off or sliding it off with or without guideposts. but I have never left it tied to the winch until the boat started floating of the bunks either

[IDBoating]

Here are photos after the boat was unwrapped:




No on-water photos today, sorry. We were having too much fun learning and experimenting and tearing around. We put over three engine hours on the boat today and didn't even get started until after noon.

Remember, it's early October up here and most people aren't thinking about boats anymore for the season. But we had an 84F day today and when we started driving that new Tige 24Ve around folks came out of the woodwork!

We pulled one neighbor on a slalom ski until he couldn't hold on anymore. We pulled my 8YO son on his wakeboard so he could start getting a feel for the MUCH more significant wake this boat throws out. Some friends from Spokane drove out just to take a ride on the boat. And a semi-pro wakesurfer - also my son's wakeboarding coach - just happened to be around and jumped right in to see what the boat could do.

With just a couple of adults, my son, and our dog acting as ballast we got the beginnings of a beautiful surf save. Taps at 8, about 10.5 MPH, gave the best shape. Our wakesurfing friend normally drives a Centurion but was so impressed with the 24Ve and the wave it was generating that he offered to pull all the fat sacs out of his boat and make them available for us tomorrow.

We're meeting up late tomorrow morning to load up the ballast and see what the 24Ve can do. I hope to take some videos of the results, and I'll post them here.

This is getting seriously fun now!

[Iwndr]

Looks Sweet WA Enjoy, thats the main thing

[jwanck11]

This is getting seriously fun now!

We are well over 200 hours and say the same thing!